Why You Shouldn’t Feel Guilty for Eating Frozen Pizza

Welcome back to Restaurant Confessionals, where we talk to the unheard voices of the restaurant industry from both the front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) about what really goes on behind the scenes at your favourite establishments. In this instalment, we talk to a chef who thinks we should stop shaming people for eating convenience food.

I hate the categorisations people make about food being "clean" or "dirty." The key is having variety in your diet and convenience foods are just one of those things. People shouldn't moralise convenience foods or shame anyone who eats them. I think they're an important part of people's lives.

I've been a chef in restaurants and hotels but now I work as a development chef in food manufacturing. It's easy to say I'm invested, but I'm not representing the industry.

In the food manufacturing industry, you have to deal with a lot. While the health bloggers who promote a processed food-free diet can get away with saying whatever they want, in food manufacturing, you have to be honest. A wellness blogger on TV can say anything without any proper scientific evidence but if you want to advertise convenience foods, you have to comply with all sorts of regulations.

But back to why ready meals are an absolute lifeline.

I can't remember the exact figure, but I think something like 86 percent of parents in this country don't cook meals from scratch at least once a week [a survey commissioned by the Department of Heath found that just 16 percent cooked a meal from scratch every day]. Ready meals give people back their time. People are mocked if they buy pre-chopped onions or pre-peeled carrots, but they can be really useful for elderly or disabled people, giving them greater independence.

It's wrong that everybody should feel like they have to have a home-cooked meal every day. And by pouring scorn on the foods, you're pouring scorn on people.

As a chef, food is really important to me but when people say that you're mistreating children by giving them convenience foods, you're not. We all grew up with convenience foods and they're an important part of all of our lives. My food memories are full of nice home-cooked meals but then they're also about Viennetta and crispy pancakes. They're a rich and warm part of my food history and upbringing.

So, let's just try and make them a part of a balanced diet rather than feeling the need to exclude anything.

We shouldn't say the only way to be healthy is to cook everything from fresh and hold up this perfect, idealistic lifestyle. It's completely unrealistic and it's not doing any good, just making some people feel guilty. Ultimately, the key is to engage with the industry that makes convenience and manufactured foods because so many people use, and will continue to use, these products.

As told to Daisy Meager.